Dead In the Water
by Calla Mae
Summary: A girl stuck out of time in a land of kings and adventure, facing orcs and a dragon. A girl who stupidly fell in love with the most infuriating dwarf. A girl who died twice. But if I had to die, well, dying for Thorin Oakenshield isn't such a bad way to go.
1. if i was not myself

_So wake me up when it's all over_

_when I'm wiser and I'm bolder_

_all this time I was finding myself and I, _

_I didn't know I was lost. _

…

That was the song I was singing as I drove to see me mum. She didn't remember me, she didn't remember much of anything anymore. But I saw her every week, hoping she'd have a good day and at least know we were related. That's what I was hoping that night as I was driving, singing along to the radio and following my car's headlights on the road.

It was the song that was playing when the car driving toward me swerved into my lane. Words on my tongue vanishing with the bright lights. I panicked and jerked the wheel right. Didn't do any good, only sent me over the bridge.

My mum's in a home where she could actually be taken care of, since most of the time I was a complete stranger to her. My car was old, as cheap as I could find and still be usable. The seatbelt stuck sometimes, I'd have to jiggle it for a bit for it to unlatch.

The water was cold as it seeped into the car, it was the middle of winter so it was freezing. I clawed at the buckle, screaming as it stuck and wouldn't unhook. The water was up to my waist now and climbing higher as my car sank. I cried as I tried to get out, pulling on the belt or trying to get the door open. Anything that would save me. I was so afraid.

It's funny how much your mum will tell you when she doesn't realize you're her daughter. Like how she had an affair with her boss, or how she and my dad didn't want kids. I learned a lot about the woman who'd given birth to me, who had no memories of after she was thirty and already pregnant with me. I learned why later my dad would leave when I was seven, it's cause he wasn't really my dad – I can't blame him for not being able to handle it. Both my parents have blonde hair, mine's brown and my eyes are even darker. I learned why my mother had been so cold. It had hurt at first, still did sometimes like when she'd say I had Charles' eyes – that's the man who's really my father by the way. But eventually, I became numb to it. To everything.

I tried to hold my breath, pulling as hard as I could on the strap across my chest. Drowning sucks, that's about all I can say. Eventually your lungs demand air only to be filled with water. No matter how many times you cough the water is never gone, and then you're sucking more back in. Over and over you sit convulsing as you fight to find some air, this pain burning in your chest and spreading down to your toes. Relief comes painfully, slowly, darkness finally letting you fade away into a numb black peace. I told you, it sucks.

And that was the day I died.

Nora Lee Harker. It's gotta nice ring to it, don't you think? You should remember that name, it's important. I was important, in a way. I fought in a battle, helped inadvertently slay a dragon, returned a king to his kingdom. I couldn't save him though, just as he couldn't save me. He'd tried so hard. And I never really got to say goodbye. But if I had to die, well, dying for Thorin Oakenshield isn't such a bad way to go.

Remember that name. Nora Lee Harker, a girl stuck out of time, a girl who stupidly fell in love with the most infuriating man, a girl who died twice. I told you, I was important.

* * *

_So this is an idea I had after watching some Doctor Who, and I know a girl falling into Middle Earth is a very overused idea to the point where it's a cliché, but I thought I'd try my hand at it. I hope you guys continue to read it and enjoy it._


	2. and you were someone else

"Gandalf what was that?" Bilbo asked quietly standing at the wizard's side as they all stared at where a bright light had seemed to explode only seconds before, and then darkness had reigned once more.

He stared at where the light was, a strange feeling having come over him that he was supposed to go there. "I have no idea," he admitted as he wondered. "It would be best if you stayed here," he told the dwarves. "Come with me Master Baggins," he said before taking his staff and beginning the walk down the hill they'd made camp atop of.

"W-what?" Bilbo stuttered, reluctant to follow after in fear of whatever creature they would find. He sighed unhappily before trodding after the wizard, staying behind his long gray cloak as he tried to peek around.

"Here we are," Gandalf said softly after they'd walked a short ways.

Bilbo looked around Gandalf timidly before moving to stand beside him confused. "What's a woman doing all the way out here? And what on earth is she wearing?" he asked seeing she was not only in pants but that they were incredibly tight, as well as her shirt which barely covered her at all.

Gandalf didn't answer him, instead he handed his staff to Bilbo and knelt beside the young woman. Not a single thread of recognition was wound in his brain, she was entirely new to him – as was her current state for she did not appear to be alive. But he knew that light, what it meant; it was the ripping of time, which meant this girl was not supposed to be here. Though other than her body, Gandalf wasn't sure she was entirely here yet.

…

"Hello?" Nora called down the long hall she'd woken up in, hundreds of doors lining the walls on both sides. She looked to her right and then to her left seeing neither way looked like it ever ended, and it left her to decide which way to go. "Where am I?" she asked taking small steps to her left. "Isn't there anyone there?"

She looked around herself helplessly when no one answered, reaching her hand out to a doorknob fearful of what she would find when she opened it. The moment she saw through the light she slammed the door closed, her heart racing unable to believe what she'd seen. It took her a moment to catch her breath before she convinced herself to peek in again, and so she opened the door a crack and looked inside. It was the same horrid bright light that pierced her eyes, but squinting to see past it she saw what looked to be the taillights of a car sinking into a river. And then she realized she was staring at her car, with her inside as she drowned, and she shut the door again.

She forced herself to step back, forced herself to breathe in and out before turning down the hall and walking forward. It was several feet before she reached for another door, inhaling sharply and exhaling slowly to gather the courage to turn the knob. A smile lit her face when she saw the party inside, she could practically hear the music and feel the euphoria; it looked like a scene straight out of The Great Gatsby. She watched as the young girls in their loose dresses danced and smoked with feathers in their hair. And the men, they looked so dapper in their suits with their hair slicked back. "Incredible," she breathed as she continued to watch the scene wide eyed in awe.

Closing the door she walked down the hall, peeking through different doors to find that she was going back time – the future behind her but she was too enraptured to do anything more than continue on her way. She saw different places in different times, traveling all over the world through the past by doing no more than opening and closing doors. And down and down she went, skipping more doors to find something new and exciting waiting in one further down. Until she found herself staring at an Earth that didn't really look like Earth anymore. Even the trees looked strange, until in one door she realized that some of them could walk – even speak if she waited long to listen. Not even the people were the same: some looked like the humans she had expected to see, though there were others who looked much different. There were short round little people, who possibly went no higher than her shoulder, and thick hair on their feet – they were a merry bunch. The others were not quite so merry, though twice as round; and she found herself envious of the way the many braids they fashioned in their hair and beards. And then the other, more beautiful than any one person she had ever seen before; long lithe bodies, pointy ears, she was in awe of them.

But she stayed longer at one moment in time than she had the others; the sight of the short stout raven haired young man had brought her up short. It wasn't his handsome face that kept her attention, though it was what captured it, and it wasn't that he was a dwarf – which she did not know at the time. He was royalty, that much she could see in his face and the way he carried himself, in a wondrous kingdom under a mountain. She had opened the door to see the man walking through his kindom, his hair blowing in a heavy wind, his eyes wide with the fear etched on his face. If there was ever a defining moment in her life, it would be this one as she watched the short man and his people stand against a terrible dragon – which she had never thought to have existed. She saw his horror, saw his bravery and courage. And later, after the dragon had passed and he had led his people away from his mountain, she saw his tears.

He fascinated her with his strength, his valor, his drive; he would make a fine king. And it was that thought that moved her to the next door, bearing witness to a battle with horrid looking creatures. She thought perhaps there was no one stronger than this man. He was stubborn too, rude and sometimes cruel. Though after standing for so long staring into his life she had watched him lose everything – his kingdom, his grandfather and then father, his brother. As the years passed in his life she watched him grow hard, watched the young happy man he used to be shrivel up and die inside him – and it saddened her, because he would have made a great king.

But life had a funny way of ruining plans, as she knew from her own experience. And she watched as he, along with twelve other men of his race began the journey to reclaim his kingdom – watched him almost die three times before they even reached the mountain. Patience had never been her strongest suit, and so she moved to the next door to watch him become king, knowing he and his men would find a way to kill the dragon. That was not the sight she was met with. She, instead, opened the door to find another battle – one bigger than she had ever imagined possible – full of humans and the small bearded men and what she guessed to be elves with their pointy ears, and the horrid deformed creatures from before. There was much death to be seen, heartache and pain. But it was one man, who she had been watching, that she wished so greatly to live. Yet she watched him and his nephews fall as well.

"He can't die," she said as though there was someone listening. "He was supposed to be king." She closed that door and went back to the others, frantically trying to go back hoping the past would change and knowing it wouldn't. Five doors, that was the span of his life, the span of almost three hundred years; the first door she knew was before the dragon came, she didn't want that one. She wanted the one before he took the quest, before he met the small man with the hairy feet. Not a single thought was running through her head, only that he couldn't die because it wasn't fair. And so she opened the door she thought she wanted, and without a second thought or wondering the consequence, she stepped through. But she had been wrong, meeting with the small man had been at the end of the third door – she'd stepped into the fourth, after the quest had already started. And in a flash of burning white light she fell through time, everything that had happened in the strange hall after she'd drowned burning from her mind until she no longer knew why she had come.

…

The dwarves had all gathered around Gandalf curiously when he'd returned carrying the girl, their not so hushed whispers grating on the wizard's ears as he tried to find where she was. "Would you hush for a moment," he said gruffly silencing them.

Thorin stared down at her sleeping face wondering the same as the others. A thought came to him, she looked familiar in the strangest of ways; he knew her pretty face, as though he had made her smile once, had heard her voice. As quickly as the thought had come to him it passed for he did not think he ever had met her. Now he stood wondering what they would do with her.

"Mister Gandalf?" Balin asked, the dwarf closest to her as he inspected her closely. "She's not breathing."

That caused many of the dwarves to turn to each other to whisper what that meant, and why the wizard knelt and waited so fervently for her to wake when she was dead. Before he could answer her chest heaved surprising them all with the sudden movement. "Come now," Gandalf urged placing a hand on her head, "wake up."

Her brows knit together, her chest still heaving though she did not draw breath. It was a long few moments before she finally did, and coughed up the last bit of water in her throat.

She breathed deeply as she opened her eyes, finding herself surrounded by several unknown faces. "Where am I?"

* * *

_Thank you all for the reviews and the favorite/follows, it all really means a lot to me. I can't wait to get to her conversing with the Company because she doesn't know anything about Middle Earth and they don't know anything about her world - so they will clash in very funny ways. Thank you all so much again, and I hope you continue reading._


	3. I'd say so much to you

_Happy New Year everyone! As a heads up, I changed Anna's name to Nora - I have a story with a girl named Nora and I kept writing that instead of Anna so I just went ahead and changed it. _

* * *

She stared up at the weathered old man, feeling his hand on top of her head as he smiled down at her, not at all put at ease when she saw several other faces all gathered near. "Where am I?" she asked, seeing from the clothes and the other men's shortness she was not anywhere near home.

Gandalf looked down at her sympathetically. "You are in Middle Earth," he said helping her to her feet.

"Of course I am," she mumbled more to herself as she looked at the foreign untamed land around her; she couldn't even die like a normal person, she had to wind up in a some strange place with even stranger looking people.

The wizard looked down at her curiously, wondering what time she had come from – her clothes were strange, as the dwarves were all noticing, and she was rather small; the tallest dwarf was barely an inch shorter than her. "What is your name?" he asked kindly, seeing from her wide eyes she was as mystified as she was in shock.

"Nora Harker," she answered softly turning back to him.

A grumbling sounded from behind her. "What kind of name is Nora Harker?"

She turned to see a red haired dwarf staring up at her suspiciously. "It's my name," she said offended.

The dwarf grumbled as he watched her closely. "Well it is a strange one at that," he told her, the others around him voicing their agreements.

"Yeah, what's your name then?" she asked defensively, her brows drawn together as she tried to stare him down – but even though she had a good few inches on him he was much rounder than her, compared to him she looked like she would get blown away by a passing wind.

He puffed out his chest pridefully and responded: "I am Gloin son of Groin."

If the eyes of thirteen dwarves were not staring so heavily at her she might have smiled at the fact that his father's name was Groin; as it was she continued to look at him almost confused. "Your name is Gloin," she said for clarification, "and Nora's the weird one?" When many of the dwarves nodded she turned back to the old man helplessly hoping he would explain just what was going on because she still didn't know.

He looked at her unable to offer any comfort and instead shrugged smiling pleasantly, hoping she would calm down enough soon to actually pay mind to what he would say. But in the company of dwarves, who thought little of sparing a poor young woman's already overwhelmed mind, they would only further fret her.

"Gandalf."

Both wizard and woman turned at the deep unhappy voice to look at the sullen dark haired leader, his eyes hard and mistrusting when they glanced her way. Gandalf placed a hand on her back and moved her to a place to sit. "Bilbo," he called, "why don't you," he trailed thinking if there were a word to explain what he wished to say. He nodded briefly at the hobbit before returning to Thorin.

"Hello," Bilbo said kindly as he sat beside her, trying to keep himself from staring at her and her horribly indecent clothing revealing too much of her slender body.

She looked at the small man, smaller than even the others, seeing his openly kind face. "Hi," she said in return, turning away and missing the queer look he gave her at that word.

He could imagine what she was thinking, being in a new land away from everything she knew. "I've never been out of the Shire," he told her quietly, seeing her confused face when she turned to him. "That's where I live," he explained upon realizing she did not know anything of Middle Earth. "All of this," he said motioning around him, "is very new to me as well. And Nora is a lovely name."

He really was very nice, she thought as she looked at his small smile. "Thank you," she told him genuinely, happy to have at least one person who was not staring at her as though she might turn and kill them all. "Are they always like this?" she asked softly, feeling very small under the weight of all of their eyes.

"Oh yes," Bilbo told her quick to agree. "They came into my home uninvited and emptied my pantry. I won't even start on what they did to the plumbing."

She stared at him with her brows raised. "How rude," she said nearly mouthing the words so they would not be heard, and Bilbo laughed as he agreed. She leaned closer to him, not wishing to be overheard in case they took offense. "Are they humans?" she asked, thinking they must be because other than their strange shortness and their large hands and feet they looked rather like men.

"What's that?" Bilbo asked unfamiliar with that word.

She looked over at him to see his confusion and she realized she probably had many words he didn't know. "You know, like normal men," she said trying to clarify in a way he'd get.

That time he did and he shook his head. "No, they're dwarves," he told her, watching her nod and knowing she didn't quite understand yet. "You see, there's man such as yourself," he said pointing to her, "and there's dwarves, which are them. And hobbits," he told her motioning to himself, "and elves."

It took a moment before she was able to let that all sink in, putting the different people on top of everything else and finding that she didn't think her brain could take anymore new information. "So it's like different races?" she asked, trying find something of a similarity she could connect things too.

"Exactly," he said glad she understood that because he wasn't sure if he had any other way to explain. "And each one looks a bit different, you see," he said before rattling on about hobbits and dwarves and elves and the things that made them different.

…

Thorin had moved aside with Gandalf when Bilbo had first sat next to the strange woman. "Tell me you do not think of her joining us," he said lowly as he stared up at the wizard.

"Where else do you suppose she'd go?" Gandalf asked him, believing his head would start aching from Thorin's stubbornness soon. "She knows nothing of this land."

"Is that not reason enough for her to leave?" Thorin asked simply. "She has neither the knowledge nor the means to face the dangers of this quest. I've allowed your burglar but I will not this woman."

Gandalf stared down at him growing frustrating, the thought of not taking her with him not crossing his mind. "I don't believe you know her strength," he informed the dwarf king, watching his brow raise in disbelief. "She seems to be taking this rather well," he said looking back to where she sat whispering with Bilbo, a smile on her face. "Besides Thorin, I am not asking she join your Company I am simply requesting you allow her to journey with me."

"Are those not the same?" Thorin asked him, refusing the thought of letting her come – he did not trust her nor think her capable of withstanding anything they would come to face.

Gandalf sighed grievously. "I wish to know how it is she found her way to this land, and if there is not a way to return her to her own. I cannot very well do that should you decide to leave her here," he told him firmly, not allowing the choice of leaving her or sending her away. "When I take my leave of you, Thorin Oakenshield, I will take her with me. Should anything fall on her before then it will be my responsibility, not yours."

It sounded simple enough, plain enough, but Thorin did not agree for the many dangers that would amount before the wizard left them. Her life would very much fall into his hands. "Gandalf, you cannot honestly deem her willing to face a dragon," he said still hoping to rid his company of the woman who may get them killed with her ignorance.

"Of course not," Gandalf said harshly.

"Excuse me." They both turned at the sound of her feminine voice, much too sweet in the company of so many men. "Did you just a dragon? Do you have those here?" she asked, the surprise dwelling in her wide brown eyes. Bilbo had been telling her each of the dwarves' names, until she overheard Thorin's voice.

"Do you not have dragons in your land, lassie?" Balin asked her, more kind and welcoming than the others had been.

She looked at him as though he'd grown another head. "Not even in the slightest," she answered, wondering just where it was she'd come to if dragons were real.

"Dangerous beasts they are," Bofur said stepping forward, and Bilbo tried to get her attention before the dwarf scared her as he himself had been.

"Aye they'll melt the flesh off your bones," Kili said, what Bofur had told Bilbo before.

Bofur smiled at him conspiratorially before turning back to her. "It's a furnace with wings," he said.

Bilbo gave up trying to make her look at him and instead moved to stand beside Gandalf, not knowing how she would react to it.

"A flash of light," Kili said.

"A searing pain," said Bofur.

"Then poof, a pile of ash," Kili finished trying not to laugh as he waited for her reaction.

She stared at the two of them as though they were a couple of idiots. "Seriously?" she asked looking between the two. "I know what a dragon is," she told them.

Bofur and Kili looked at each other before turning to her with large smiles. "Aye, she's tougher than Bilbo," Bofur said happily.

She turned to the old man wondering what in the world was going on, but he only smiled and chuckled; Bilbo wasn't much help either, he blushed and looked away still sore about what had happened in his hobbit-hole.

Gandalf looked at her pleased she hadn't followed suit and fainted as Bilbo had; he thought very much that Thorin would've entirely refused her before she even hit the ground. "Dawn is approaching, since we have all woken we can continue on," he said, catching her eye and shaking his head when she made to speak – glad she understood it best not to question where they were going just yet. "You will be riding with me, my dear," he told her, knowing the sooner he answered her questions and the quieter they spoke the less likely offense could be taken.

Most all of the dwarves whispered to one another about her as they rode, wondering why Thorin was allowing this and what purpose she would have, and how quickly she would cry to go home. She would have been horribly offended at their judge of her character if she weren't speaking intently with Gandalf.

"Where are we going?" she whispered, her arms around his waist as she held on; her eyes taking in the lush green land around her – it was positively beautiful, and untainted by man.

He looked at Thorin riding in front of them, who had not overheard, and he bent his head so she could hear his soft voice. "Thorin wishes to reclaim his lost kingdom."

"He's a king?" she asked interrupting him, Bilbo having not told her that.

"Yes," Gandalf answered simply. "His grandfather was killed in battle and his father driven mad. If not for the dragon he would have been ruling Erebor."

She looked up at Gandalf surprised. "How awful," she said, seeing now why Thorin's eyes were so hard and his face so unyielding. "But he said you were going to face a dragon, is the dragon living in his kingdom?" she asked not quite sure how that were possible when the dragon would do no more than crush it.

Gandalf looked over his shoulder at her. "You're a clever girl Nora," he mused. "And yes, the dwarves built it in the Lonely Mountain."

"They built a kingdom in a mountain?" she asked trying to picture what that would look like. "I bet it's splendid."

He smiled at the wonder in her voice, thinking she was far stronger than any of them thought. "That it was," he agreed, looking to Thorin and meeting his eye to see he had overheard. His eyes were not hard with anger, just wondering and curiosity for the girl who appeared as though things such as waking up in a different time happened everyday.

"What happened to you before you woke here?" he asked, his deep voice penetrating all other talk and silencing them all as they awaited her answer.

She didn't really want to answer that, she didn't want to have to think about it. But there was something in his voice that demanded to be answered – she supposed it was the king in him. "I was drowning," she answered, because that was the last thing she remembered before waking up.

The stern hardened edge that was his face melted into shock as he stared at her, though he quickly blinked and turned away to continue on. Now he understood why she had taken waking in a new land so well; the alternative was death, anyone would take the second chance. But it still didn't explain why she was there, little did he know that he was the answer.


	4. and I would tell the truth

Her backside was aching fiercely by the time they stopped for the night, but with the way Thorin looked at both her and Bilbo she didn't dare complain – Gandalf had beaten around the bush that she should thank her lucky stars the dwarf king had even agreed to her accompanying them. Which she was thankful for since she still didn't know where Middle Earth was in relation to her home – and if there was even a way to actually go back.

And so she stretched her tired muscles sitting beside Bilbo as they all supped, staring down at her bowl as the dwarves all stole glances at her. She'd already been questioned profusely about her clothing, them saying her trousers were far too tight for a lady though many jokingly said they didn't mind the view. Now, as night fell and stew warmed their bellies, they began questioning her about other things.

"So what was it like in your land?" one of them asked.

She shrugged catching Gandalf's eye, who shook his head to let her know not to reveal too much. "There's a lot of people," she answered. "More than we have room for really," she said thinking of the many science articles she'd read in school about over population.

"D'ya have dwarves there?" Bofur asked, causing many of the others to turn and nod as they awaited her answer.

She smiled uncomfortably before looking at the ground, wondering how to say it so as them not to be offended – she'd already offended them once today, and after being properly yelled at she didn't plan to do it again. "In a way, we don't usually call them dwarves, and they're normally smaller. The name for the disorder is Dwarfism, which does make sense considering," she stopped when she realized what she'd just said might be taken the wrong way, and looked up to see not all of the dwarves had understood what she said.

But it only took one. "So in your land being a dwarf is considered a disease?" Thorin's gruff voice sounded, firm and angry.

"No, that's not what I,"

"It is what you said," Gloin nearly shouted, the others now falling in line behind Thorin's accusation.

"If you would just let me," she tried to say but she was interrupted again.

"You said it was a disease."

After several more times of trying to get in a word, to which the dwarves all spoke over her and each other, she finally lost her temper. "That is not what I said!" she cried silencing them all with her shrill voice. "I said Dwarfism is a _disorder_, which where I come from it is because of many scientific reasons such as hormone deficiencies and bone grown disorders, things of that sort. I also said in my land they were shorter than you, and I said 'in a way' which means that they have some similarities but are different. If you had actually listened to what I said instead of yelling at me, you would have understood that," she said in one breath, leaving her breathing heavily when she'd finished as she was left with their wide eyes all staring at her. She sat fiddling with her fingers as she waited for them to decide she should leave, and why shouldn't they when she'd insulted them twice and then yelled at them return.

Though Gandalf sat smiling as he smoked his pipe knowing if anything she'd proved she could handle herself with them, which was something Bilbo still had need to do. And the wizard was not the only one who thought the same, Balin sat beside his king staring at the young woman hearing no attempt at an apology. "What did you do in your land?" he asked in effort to put them all at ease once more. "Help run an inn, or help with your family's farm?" he asked, for there was not much a woman could do besides run their household and she did not wear a ring.

She looked at his kind face and almost smiled relieved. "I was studying Anthropology," she answered softly, knowing before she spoke they wouldn't know what that was.

"What's that?" Dwalin asked gruffly, him and his brother having been the only few who'd stayed quiet when the others had cried out in anger; though he'd glared profusely at her.

She looked up from her hands at him, seeing his hard mistrustful eyes staring back at her waiting. "It's the study of hu-, uh, people," she finished remembering that Bilbo hadn't known that word, "both past and present. We look at their cultures and social interactions as well as religions and behavioral tendencies," she explained, looking up to see them all staring at her strangely. "Though I suppose none of that is important anymore," she said more to herself, seeing as how they didn't understand any of what she'd said.

The dwarves all stared at her, for a moment, speechless. And then of course when they finally found something to say they all decided to say it at once and refused to wait.

The little bits she caught were along the lines of, what does all of that mean, what do you mean you studied it are women allowed to where you come from, where was it exactly you lived, and so on and so forth. And just as abruptly as they began to question her they all stopped and waited impatiently for her to speak.

She turned to Gandalf with appalled eyes and he could only shake his head entirely amused by the whole evening. "Well," she finally began, "I went to a school, that's where we were taught history and other things. And yes, girls could go too," she said, an offended tone to her voice that they thought women couldn't go to schools. "Women can also have jobs as well, I worked as a secretary in an office, I also owned my own flat too," she said before shaking her head at how off topic and even more confusing for them all that was. "And if I had to guess, and this is only guess, I would say I was from here only a very long time in the future," she said before clasping her hands and waiting for them to ask even more questions.

The dwarves sat thinking over all she'd said, having not understood many of her words and therefore not quite sure what to ask her in fear of looking completely foolish. "You said you owned a flat, is that what you would call a home?" Bilbo asked, his soft sweet voice more gentle than the others, and she felt more willing to answer him as honestly as she could.

"Yes," she told him, stopping before she explained it was like an apartment; they didn't know what either of those were. Before she could say anymore she was interrupted.

"You have a husband then?" one of the dwarves asked, which was the question many of them wondered for women did not own homes.

She looked at them wondering exactly what customs they had and if women were still oppressed; she was quickly seeing that they were. "No, I am not married." She didn't even have a "boyfriend", a word she entirely loathed the use of. There had been a few boys who'd taken her out, kissed her, tried for more; only they were always scared away, whether by her own ambitions or because of her mother's illness and the responsibility that came with it.

"It is allowed for an unwed woman to not only have a means of labor but to own her own home, and all without a husband?" Balin asked, the more sensible of them all and the more traditional.

"I don't need a man to allow me to have a job or a home," she told him, though not unkindly. "What's your society like that men have the right to dictate a woman's life?"

Balin stared at her abashed at the question. "I do not know what a 'society' is, lass, but I do know you are more free than you have the right to," he told her, voicing the thoughts of all the others; even Bilbo.

Her brows furrowed in surprise. "I am as free as I choose," she told him flippantly, Gandalf quickly saw this would go awry if he did not stop it. Though the dwarves were set in their ways, as was she, and cutting in was not at all an easy feat. "Do I not have my own mind, my own thoughts and opinions? Why should I have to live under the control of a man?"

Balin smiled and shook his head, thinking she just didn't understand yet. "It is not control."

"Isn't it?" she asked already knowing the defense he would give – she'd studied many findings and evidence of ancient civilizations, and even as short as a hundred years ago where women were forced to a place well below men. "You just said it was surprising that I had a home and job without a husband, which I take to mean without his permission – and that sounds an awful lot like control. You want me to believe that as a woman I'm not allowed to make my own decisions, that I don't have the right to my own mind. What you describe to me as marriage sounds more like a prison sentence."

"It most certainly is not," Balin said, growing red the more flustered he became. The dwarves sat, for the first time, in silence as they looked back and forth between the two completely enraptured by them butting heads. "Women are gentle creatures who require a man's firm leading. It is not about control Nora Harker," he told her, "it is about love. A woman should be glad to have her husband's authority, just as a husband shows kindness in how he rules her." He smiled gently at her, seeing the softness in her eyes as she sat staring at him.

"But why?' she asked softly, something she had always wanted to ask a person whose society was very similar to their beliefs – and now she got to, and she'd get an answer.

But it was neither satisfying or what she wanted. "That is the way things are in this land," Thorin answered, wanting to put the conversation behind them so they could rest – finding her more loose than a woman ought to be, and disrespectful. "I would suggest you grow accustomed," he told her, his voice hard and his eyes heated; prepared to turn away and order them all to sleep, but she was much more spirited than he knew.

"I will not," she informed him, unhappy with the overbearing way he looked at her – as though he were in a place so above her she should not even be allowed to speak in his presence. "That is not the world I was raised in."

His eyes hardened further at her stubbornness. "That is the world you now live, whether you wish for it or not those are the customs that you are now subject to," he ordered.

And yet again her strong will reared its ugly head when all common sense told her to simply shut up. "Why?" she asked, almost daringly. "Because I have breasts, or because you have a dick?"

The dwarves sat with gaping mouths at the word that fell from her tongue, even Thorin was shocked senseless – though Kili hid a smile behind his hand, and choked back his snickers at such a look of complete surprise on his uncle's normally stoic face.

Her intentions hadn't been to shock them, only to show how ignorant it was to think women were of a lower standard than men – but she could see that swearing was not common among women, something she should have figured out earlier.

"I think that is all that should be discussed about her land for this evening," Gandalf said standing, staring down at her irritably – she would not her accompanying them easy for Thorin if she did not get a hold of her own tongue, something he would have to warn her of.

She turned away from Gandalf feeling her cheeks warm under his stern gaze, realizing she needed to watch herself closely especially if she did not want them to leave her.

"Gandalf is right," Thorin said, his authority one the dwarves all listened to, "we should rest now so we may leave at dawn. We can finish speaking of this in the morning."

She felt his eyes heavy and blazing on her knowing in the morning he'd order her to be silent on the matter. "There's nothing else to talk about."

"There is plenty more we have left to speak," he said, a dangerous bite to his tone.

But she neither heard it nor cared, and she turned to him with her own eyes burning. "I matter," she told him loudly, "and I will not have you telling me I don't."

He would have said more, had planned to say more, but she turned away from him and laid down – silencing him. Her actions infuriated him, treating him as though he were less than the king he was. He turned to the wizard, who'd moved beside him, ready to say he would not let her go with them any further.

But Gandalf spoke first, knowing what the dwarf king would say. "There is still much more you do not know of her, Thorin Oakenshield," he said softly, wishing he would see that they could not simply leave her – she was there for a reason, and she may just save all of their lives if Thorin would let her.

"I know all I can bear."

Gandalf sighed at Thorin's stubborn unyielding way, quickly growing more irritated with him. "If you would stop wishing her away perhaps you would see the sadness in her eyes," he said sharply, surprising Thorin with the severity in his voice.

Thorin stared up at the wizard wondering if he were right, if perhaps she'd waged her own battles – she certainly spoke as though women were capable of it. And then a thought came to him. "You know why she is here," he said, no need to question it for of course the wizard would know.

Though Gandalf shook his head. "I have many a guess," he told Thorin. "She is here, at the very start of your quest. Not even you could deem that a matter of chance."

Thorin pondered that a moment before shaking his head and leaving Gandalf, settling away from the others so he could breathe the cool night air and think. It could not be a matter of chance that she had come only a few days after they first set off, nor that she had come so close to where they were as if to be found by them – there was a purpose to her being there, being in his Company. And as much as he wished to take her back to Bree and leave her, he would find out that reason first.

* * *

**_I changed the picture of the story to one of the actress Jessica Brown Findlay - simply because I love her, and I've watched so many of her interviews and really just like her as a person let alone as an actress. So I'm really kind of getting into who Nora is as a person, now that the shock's worn off and she's actually talking more - and she's a kind of woman the dwarves have never seen before. Though I know it's been a slow start, and I'm sorry about that, but there are some character developments and standing points of relationships that need to be covered - or else the story would actually be over fairly quickly. But once I get to the trolls, which I believe will be next chapter (cause this started after Balin told them all about Azog) it should speed up a bit. Although I am an author who likes to dwell in the little, less important, moments; so if you think it's going too slow please let me know. Thank you all again for reading, and reviewing - it all really does make my day._**


	5. cause I can hardly breathe

The next morning as they set out many were eager to ask Nora more about her land, finding her tales and her speech most interesting; but both Gandalf and Thorin would turn a hard eye on whomever tried to question her, the wizard hoping to stall another argument and Thorin wanting to keep her quiet.

He did not find her interesting, he found her headstrong and infuriating, believing herself to be more than she was worth – and the way she spoke, he could not fathom the world she came from. She was much too loose and reckless with her words, which he could only imagine how that would pertain to her actions. Thorin was not the only dwarf who thought this, Dwalin and Gloin did as well – though in all truth, if it came to it she'd fair better in a fight than Bilbo, as they thought.

It were the younger dwarves who found her agreeable, and so when they rested and ate their midday meal many gathered around her.

"Are there other women who think as you do?" Kili asked in a hushed voice, glancing at his uncle over his shoulder before turning back to her.

Nora nodded as she took a bite of what she thought was a biscuit. "Just about all women," she told him. "It's a very different world with a lot more freedom for a lot more people."

"What kind of freedoms?" Ori asked shyly, barely able to look at her before he would avert his eyes.

"Well," she said softly as she thought, "women have almost every right as men, such as voting and fighting in wars, and jobs and things like that. But people of different races also have the same rights, and that now goes for different sexualities as well. That was a big thing," she said shaking her head at the constant debate of same sex marriage.

The dwarves had all nodded along as she spoke, having to take it upon themselves to figure out what her words meant, though the last part had confused all of them.

"Excuse me," Ori said meekly, "what is that last thing you said," he finished rushed, too shy to say a word that sounded remotely like sex.

She looked at the dwarves around her, and Bilbo, to see them all waiting curiously for her answer. "Uh," she started, wondering if she should explain or if it would be too much for them, "maybe I shouldn't," she finally said, opting out of explaining to them how two people of the same gender could marry – she figured if they couldn't accept women were as equal as them, they certainly wouldn't accept two men marrying, or two women.

"I think that would be best," Gandalf said having caught many of their Company standing or sitting near her so they could listen if not speak to her themselves.

The dwarves nodded reluctantly before looking away from her, wishing to ask her more if only to hear the incredulous things she would say – but now Thorin was looking sternly at them and they all came to the same decision.

Save Bilbo. "Do you miss your home?" he asked her, feeling as though he had no place among Thorin's company and so he did not mind speaking with her – he figured she would be the closest thing to a friend he would have.

She shrugged having thought about that a few times before. "I guess, I think I'm worried about stuff more than I really miss it," she admitted quietly.

He looked to her wonderingly, wishing he could see the world she came from because it sounded too strange to be real – but then again she had appeared out of nowhere in a bright flash of light, he figured anything could be possible. "What do you worry about?" he asked, seeing her brows drawn together in contemplation.

"Things," she answered vaguely before sighing, having realized the night before even if there was a way to go back she'd still be dead. This was her life now, she couldn't miss her world. "Like who'll take care of my mum, pay for the home she lives in."

His brows rose in surprise. "You pay for your mother's home?" he asked disbelieving, wondering just how different it was if women were left with expenses.

She was quiet a moment as she thought of how to say in a way he'd understand. "It's a place older folks go when they can't fully take care of themselves."

"You don't take care of her?" he asked, unable to believe someone could just send their parent to someone else.

She shook her head. "I need money to support us, she needs someone around the clock. I can't do both."

He nodded as though he understood, hearing that she was now unhappy. "Do you like being a secertary?" he asked, offering something else to talk about.

She turned to him questioningly before she shook her head smiling. "Secretary," she corrected gently, "and no not really, it was very dull. But it was a job, so I was lucky to have it."

That he could understand, though they said nothing else because their rest was over and the two tiredly stood and made to leave. Bilbo nearly ran into Thorin from close the dwarf had been, leaning against the tree directly behind her so as to hear each word as they fell from her tongue – he trusted her not and he liked her little, but he could not push aside his intrigue for he had heard the sadness Gandalf had spoken of. And his unwilling fascination made him cruel. "Go to Gandalf Nora, I won't have you slowing us down."

She turned to him sharply to find him climbing atop his pony, not even glancing her way. Which left her little else to do but go to Gandalf and take his hand to be pulled up behind him. "Don't mind him, he has faced much and has forgotten kindness," he told her quietly, casting the dwarf king a long look before spurring his horse forward.

It did nothing to soothe her, or lessen her frustration at Thorin who looked at her as though she had asked for any of this; in all honesty, she wanted to sock him in his arrogant face. She liked Dwalin more than him, and all Dwalin did was stare at her with unyielding eyes that made her feel he was much taller than her.

She didn't say a word for the rest of the day, not to Gandalf or Bilbo or any of the dwarves – though Thorin was quick to glare at any who spoke to her and so they gave up trying to talk to her. And so when they stopped for the night by a worn down house she was left to look after Gandalf's horse while he and Thorin argued.

"Are you alright?" Dori asked her when his brother nudged him.

She turned and offered them both a smile. "Of course," she told them with false cheer before dropping her smile when she'd turned away.

Dwalin stood beside Gloin and watched her, seeing she was anything but alright though she did not seem to want to admit it. He was about to say something when Gandalf marched past them all.

"Gandalf where are you going?" Bilbo asked, feeling the same panic that Nora felt at his leaving them alone with the dwarves.

The wizard didn't even look her way as he brushed past her. "To seek the company of the only one around here who has any sense," Gandalf said crossly without stopping.  
"And who's that?" Bilbo asked greatly not wanting the wizard to leave.

"Myself, Mr Baggins," Gandalf yelled as he stalked past the last dwarf. "I've had enough dwarves for one day," he muttered to himself.

Nora watched him go, still holding onto his horse, thinking he couldn't possibly be leaving her – she hadn't realized just how dependant on him she'd been, and he was the only reason Thorin was even letting her stay with them and there Gandalf was leaving without her.

"Come on Bombur, we're hungry," Thorin demanded harshly, offering no patience or concern. His eyes found the woman and his gaze darkened at seeing Gandalf had not taken her as he'd said, whether he would return to the Company or not Thorin had known she would become his responsibility.

She didn't even have it in her to return his heated look, because now he could order her away and there was nothing to be done about it. So she sat on a large rock watching the sun set, and then listened as the dwarves talked and tried to whisper about her as they sat eating.

It would have been Bilbo to go sit beside her, her being the one to treat him the kindest, but he'd been told to give food to Fili and Kili; and so it left Nora sitting alone as she stared at the stars. They were different stars, she couldn't find a single constellation she knew – but it was beautiful, searching for any sort of shape.

She looked down at the bowl being thrust at her. "Why are you sitting here?" Dwalin demanded as he looked at the sky to see what captured her attention.

"I'm waiting to be told to leave," she answered rudely, looking at the stew and feeling her stomach clench at the thought of eating. "I'm not hungry," she said handing it back to him – looking up to see his searching eyes.

He thought she was smart to know she was on borrowed time, Thorin would not let her stay forever; the closer they came to the Mountain the more he would want to be rid of her. "It surprises me he has allowed you this long," he told her honestly, not sparing her feelings.

She laughed bitterly though. "I don't even know him and that surprises me too," she said shaking her head.

"He has reason," Dwalin told her firmly, his cutting voice letting her know she should tread carefully.

She turned to him dully. "What's that, a bad childhood?" she asked sarcastically. Though a look at Dwalin's stoic face let her know that was the answer. "That is not an excuse," she told him making him raise a brow.

He smiled sardonically shaking his head. "And what would have you believe that, from the sound of you, you had a fine childhood."

If only he knew, she thought as she turned away. Granted it was nothing compared to a dragon stealing her kingdom, but it was by no account good. "Fine, he gets to be an ass because of the dragon but that's it," she said making him smile amused.

"Mustn't forget the war where he watched his grandfather fall, or having to become king after his father had gone mad."

She turned to him surprised, having known none of that and she turned away more irritated than before the dwarf had come over. "Oh just go away," she grumbled making him chuckle at her stubbornness to admit she was wrong – though in all honesty she still thought that was no excuse, she understood Thorin more, but he was still an unjust ass. But she didn't have the nerve to say that to Dwalin.

"Aye, I'll leave you for the night," he told her still laughing, "but you are very much like him Nora Harker."

Her brows were drawn together unhappily as she stared at the night ahead of her, Gandalf's horse behind her as it ate the stew, he'd refused to go with the ponies and remained by her – she did not like being told she was like Thorin in any way; he was mean, as childish as that sounded. And the way he treated poor Bilbo, who was by far the kindest person she thought she'd ever known, and all because Bilbo wasn't a warrior. No, she didn't like being told she was like Thorin Oakenshield at all.

"Nora," Thorin's deep voice grumbled calling her to their fire. "It appears our burglar has gotten himself into trouble with a few trolls," he told her casting his nephews a dark look before turning his severe gaze back to her. "Keep watch over the rest of the ponies, find yourself some use."

She stood staring after him enraged as he turned away from her and stalked into the trees after Bilbo – several of the others looked back at her almost guiltily, knowing she hadn't earned such ill treatment, though none had the audacity to speak in her name. It was only Balin who patted her shoulder, seeing in her a young woman who was entirely lost, though he still left her. And she stood alone with Gandalf's horse at her back resting its head on her shoulder as it whinnied softly. "At least someone likes me," she said as she stroked its neck, smiling as it snorted gently. "Come on, I have to look after the others too," she told him, seeing he wasn't happy by the way he shook his head and slowly followed after.

It was several long minutes, amounting to more than an hour and dawn approaching when Gandalf found her. "Where are the others?" he asked at seeing she was alone with half their ponies and all of their stock. She jerked her thumb behind her before curling against the tree in hope of going back to sleep. But Gandalf did not seem to notice. "Did you at least attempt to help them?"

She gave him a look. "I've been too busy hoping they'd get eaten, or at least Thorin would," she retorted making him shake his head – though he'd had the same thought a few times before. She stood when he left, stretching her now knotted muscles before finding something to feed the ponies, sharing an apple with the horse. It was hearing a loud crack that had her moving beneath the trees, gathering the now free ponies and bringing them to the others before moving toward the sounds of dwarves.

"Huh," she said more to herself as she looked up at the stone trolls, having had in mind more of a smaller one like in a story she'd read when she was younger.

"Nora are you alright?" Bilbo asked as he moved to stand beside her, a difficult task when stuck in a horrid smelling sack.

"Yeah," she said, her nose wrinkled in disgust as she helped him out of it, "I see you all are too."

"Yes," Balin said as she moved to helped him, "he had the mind to stall for time."

Bilbo shrugged and blushed saying it wasn't much of anything. "It was really smart of you," Nora told him making him blush all the more red.

Thorin's penetrating deep voice quieted them all. "There must be a cave nearby."

With that the others followed behind him curiously. "Dori, Ori, Bifur, stay with the ponies," Thorin demanded before they began searching for the cave. It did not take more than a few minutes, the stench alone was a beacon that drew them to it.

"That's disgusting," Nora muttered to herself as she stood at the top.

Bilbo too was trying to hold his breath so not to inhale the nearly visible air. "Are you going in?" he asked standing aside, having no plans of taking even the smallest of steps closer.

She shrugged and stepped forward. "I was planning on it."

"It would be best if you waited out here," Thorin said brushing passed her, looking over at her as though to dare a response.

Her face lost all ounce of pleasantness, her mouth opening to drop every vulgar word she knew – but she exhaled and shook her head before turning. "Jackass," she grumbled.

His eyes were blazing as he stared at her back, not believing she'd had the audacity to say such a thing. "What did you call me?"

"I called you a jackass," she said loudly as she looked back to him, holding his shocked eyes long enough to see he wouldn't do anything else, before turning and standing beside Bilbo. The dwarves all followed after Thorin as he descended into the cave, looking at her just as shocked, but saying nothing.

"You can't say those to him, he is a king," Bilbo told her almost worriedly. He could not blame her for her anger, Thorin was harsher toward her than even to him; but it would only lead to trouble and he did not want her to leave.

She stood with her arms crossed and her hip cocked as she waited impatiently for the others to come back, having wanted to go in the cave out of nothing but curiosity – and she'd completely had it with Thorin, enough she was mulling over the idea of just leaving on her own. As long as she was pointed in the direction of a town she'd be able to find it and come up with some way of living there; anything would be better than staying here with Thorin.

Gandalf's eyes were hard with irritation when they came out of the cave, seeing she would not make it easy for Thorin to let her stay – and nor would Thorin make her time understanding this new land easy for her.

She moved away from the tall old man with her brows drawn together in consternation, seeing no one was happy with her; as if all of this were somehow her fault, as though she'd wanted to come to this place. If only she knew.

* * *

_PS: I think you do sense a more lighter tone, at least for the time being. There will be a lot of butting heads and bickering, especially from Thorin. And I can't wait, cause they're both very stubborn._


	6. when your hands let go of me

_PS: thanks, I'm glad to hear you'll read it. The head butting will actually mellow out a bit as the story progresses and things happen - I mean she won't always agree with him, and the dwarves won't always irritate her; but the more she gets used to Middle Earth and them, and the more they get used to her, they'll start to get along better. And it'll sort of start next chapter, cause Thorin's eyes will be opened to a few things about her that will make him not only sympathize with her but understand her a little better._

* * *

Nora had been standing beside Thorin, feeling his furiously dark eyes boring into her as though she were transparent. He was obviously not used to people defying him, or cursing at him; let alone that person being a woman. And so she stood with her arms crossed as she stared uncomfortably at the trees in front of her, wishing he'd look away, or at least not stand so close with a hand on the hilt of a very large sword.

He did finally look away, but she was not at all relieved. His hand fastened on her arm and he pulled her behind him brandishing his sword at the sound of rustling in the trees. "Something's coming," he called to the others, listening as it came closer; and fast.

"Stay together," Gandalf bid them, "hurry now."

Thorin kept his hold on Nora's arm as he ran, thinking he'd have to drag the weak unarmed woman to keep her at their pace, but several times he found her thin legs moved her much faster than his own.

She did not care that Thorin was a pompous ass, nor that he thought her inferior to him; at that moment in time, waiting for whatever was racing toward them, she took refuge behind his broad shoulders and his lethal sword as their enemy burst through the trees.

"Thieves, fire, murder!" the man yelled as he came to a stop, looking at them all confusedly.

Thorin released an irritated sigh at such an unwarranted fright when Gandalf greeted him as a friend, and a strange friend at that. There were no words any of them had for Radagast the Brown, and he only grew stranger when a stick insect was pulled from his tongue. He shared a look with Dwalin before staring at Nora over his shoulder, her hand still clenched around the fur of his coat.

"Those are rabbits," she said not understanding what she was seeing. "Pulling a sleigh," she finished turning her eyes to him to see his unconcerned face as he stared back at her. "Really?" she asked incredulously, wondering just where it was she'd wound up if this was the norm. "Of all the stupid things I have heard, that," she said pointing toward the sleigh before shaking her head and throwing her hands up in surrender. "Whatever," she grumbled, moving to stand beside Bilbo.

Thorin turned to Dwalin with furrowed brows to find him almost smiling as he watched her. "She is quite amusing to listen to," he admitted, further knitting Thorin's brows as he looked back to the woman.

"Do you believe she could bear the weight of this quest?" Thorin asked, having thought and found nothing to do with her besides let her continue on with them.

Dwalin shook his head. "No, she will die," he said bluntly, voicing Thorin's own hesitations. "She was not made for our world."

He nodded in agreement, those being the same thoughts he himself had. "Where could she go, we've come too far from Bree. There is little else to take her save the elves," he said nearly spitting the world elves.

Dwalin growled. "Aye, she will not be left with the likes of them."

It was what Thorin had already decided, which left him sighing still unhappy for if there was nowhere to take her then she must stay with them – and he greatly did not wish for another burden to carry.

Nora stood talking softly with Bilbo when a howl silenced them. "Was that a wolf?" Bilbo asked fearfully. "Are there wolves out there?"

She stood at his back almost wishing she'd staid by Thorin, she trusted a sword in his hands more than Bilbo's; and she quickly realized at the fear on their faces that there were much worse things than wolves out there.

And there were; they were the ugliest dogs, if they could even be called dogs when they were bigger than her; and they're gaping mouths were filled with sharp teeth that gnashed and growled as they charged the dwarves.

The two questions running through her mind as the giant dogs were killed were; what the hell are they and how many more are out there.

"Warg scouts," Thorin said in disgust as he pulled his sword out of the beast's belly – answering her first question. "Which means an orc pack is not far behind." And that answered the second.

"Orc pack?" Bilbo asked, his face paling in fear.

"What's an orc?" Nora asked him softly causing him to turn to her wide eyed at realizing she had no idea – the poor thing would be horrified when she finally saw them. Bilbo himself had never seen one, but he at least had heard the tales.

Her question went unanswered as Gandalf informed them they were being hunted, which put them all on edge and made them look around as though another warg would jump out at them. "We have to get out of here," Dwalin said firmly, only the faintest of tremors in his voice.

"We can't," Ori called as he and his brother rushed back to the group with Bifur. "We have no ponies, they've bolted."

Hope was lost after that, seeing they'd have to fight their way out and most likely die, and it made Bilbo nearly give up all together. Nora though stood not knowing what was going on, still too shocked at seeing dogs as big and vicious as wargs existed in this land – wondering how they would ever survive if all they had were swords. She'd never really cared for guns before, but she wouldn't have minded having one then.

Their escape was found in the very thing Nora had turned her nose up at; the rabbit driven sleigh, to which she could only look at Bilbo doubtfully before gathering with the others. But as crazy an idea as it was, it worked; Radagast distracted the orcs one way so that the Company could run the other – though there were several close calls to which they hid behind the large jagged rocks that spread throughout the neverending field; leaving all of them to wonder just how long they could keep this up before they were found out, and then what they would do because they were on foot and with nowhere to go.

They all pressed their backs against stone as a warg and its rider stood above them sniffing the air. Nora stood beside Bilbo breathing as quietly as she could, feeling his breaths were coming as short as her own, and Dwalin's arm laid across them both. Before Kili moved she knew it was a mistake, how could it not be – unless he managed to kill both warg and its gruesome rider then one or both of them would alert the others to where they were. Which was how it unfolded, both warg and orc shrieking as Dwalin and Bifur charged to kill.

"Jesus," she muttered to herself, looking away as Thorin drove his sword through the orc's chest finally silencing him. There wasn't much time for any of them to catch their breaths, or their wits, as the sound of the wargs howled closer.

"Move! Run!" Gandalf bellowed, urging them all forward again with the panic of now being the sole attention of their foe.

Thorin once more had Nora's arm in his grasp, her being the only one among them entirely without weapon, pulling her along after him so as to kill whatever came near. He pulled her behind him when they were forced to stop, finding themselves surrounded.

"Where's Gandalf," someone cried, causing many of them to turn and search for their wizard.

Dwalin moved to stand on Nora's other side hiding her between him and Thorin. "He's abandoned us," Dwalin told them.

"Here," Thorin said thrusting a dagger at her, giving her some means of defending herself should she need to.

"What the hell am I supposed to do with this?" she demanded staring down at it.

He turned to her appalled at her question, wondering how stupid she was if she had never used a dagger. "Stick it in a warg's belly," he told her harshly.

She looked at him as though he were the stupid one. "Before or after it eats me?" she demanded, surprising him with how right she was.

"Lassie's right," Dwalin said tightening his hands around his ax as he waited for the wargs to come closer.

That was the problem, he hadn't thought to grab her any sort of a weapon from the cave – why would he, she was a woman and he was not accustomed to them needing to arm themselves – though he now regretted that as he faced the oncoming wargs and orcs. "Hold your ground," he roared to them, moving so he could feel her against his back.

She stared in horror as the wargs came even closer, their mouths open in a sick grimace as they growled – though even worse were the orcs, a monstrosity she had never seen the likes of before. She had never wanted to be home more than she did then, faced with dying another time; she'd take her mother remembering only that she didn't want a kid, take a boring job and even more boring life, she'd take any of it if it meant living – if it meant not dying in the way that was now coming.

"This way you fools," Gandalf called, causing them to turn in surprised relief at his returning – and with a way to escape.

Thorin once more took her arm in hand and pulled her along. "Quickly all of you," he bellowed to them, seeing the wargs now gaining pace. Nora stood beside him waiting for him to release her so that she could follow the others, but it seemed as though he'd forgotten he was even holding her. It wasn't until he turned sharply, raising his sword to cut down the warg that was lunging with open jaws, that he remembered her. She stared up at him with furious eyes from how she'd collapsed so as not to have her head taken off, impressed by her quick reflexed as he helped her to her feet. "Kili," he yelled seeing his youngest nephew still shooting at the wargs so the others could get away.

"God," she exclaimed irritably as she tried to wrench his hand off her, "would you just let me go, I can manage this by myself." But Thorin wasn't paying her a bit of mind, he was staring at his nephew with a warg at his back. Kili turned surprised when a flash of silver flew passed his head and into the warg's skull.

"What else was I supposed to do with it?" Nora asked Thorin harshly when he turned to her in startled consternation.

He gave her a sharp look, waiting for Kili to slide down into the hidden cave, before pushing her in and following after. It was a matter of seconds before he realized he should have simply pulled her down with him – barely moving his feet before they landed on her small body from where he'd shoved her, and instead found himself laying over her. The first thing he noticed was just how thin she was, the second was now that he was so close to her face and staring at her, she was remarkably pretty. When he shifted his gaze he found that yet again he was staring down at her angry eyes now barely an inch from his own, thinking her ungrateful since he'd only been trying to keep her safe. At least until he noticed the third thing; where his hand was when he'd landed.

She was grateful, however she more irritated at being treated as though she were worthless, which had led to her now laying beneath Thorin's rather heavy body and his hand where it shouldn't be. "Get off me," she told him, and he was only so happy to oblige, taking first his hand from her breast and then pushing himself off her; a pair of dwarf hands reached out and pulled her to her feet. Hands which she did not graciously accept, or thank. "No one else touch me," she grumbled slapping a hand away, more tired of people grabbing her than she was happy to be alive, rubbing her arm where Thorin's hand had held her too tight. And yet when a horn sounded Gloin and Fili pushed her behind them and stood in front of her causing her to roll her eyes and sigh. And they pushed her further back when an orc fell through leaving her to peer over their heads to see that it was dead.

"Elves," Thorin muttered with distaste in his voice, making her wonder what the elves had done to make him hate them all just by saying their name.

"I cannot see where the pathway leads," Dwalin called to them, wanting to distance them from not only the orcs but the elves as well. "Do we follow it or no?"

They all turned to him to find that there was in fact a pathway. "Follow it of course," Bofur answered for them, for no one – not even Nora – wanted to climb back out.

Nora moved closer to the wall so the dwarves could pass her, feeling just about all of them push against her as they went; and she stood staring up at Gandalf irritably. "Tell me they get better with time," she said, hoping he would smile and say they just had to become used to her or deem her a friend. But the look on his face had her shoulders slumping and a sigh leaving her as she reluctantly followed after them, seeing Bilbo's encouraging half smile as he motioned her to go before him.

"You would find the Shire agreeable, I believe," he told her as they walked along, hearing the dwarves and their loud voices and footsteps and the sound of their weapons against stone – she greatly hoped they would never have to sneak passed anything, they'd give themselves away.

"What's it like?" she asked, remembering him saying that was where he was from.

He smiled at he thought of home. "It's quiet," he answered making her laugh, "and peaceful. No orcs,"

"Or those giant dogs?" she asked, thinking maybe the Shire could be where she settled down so long as she didn't have to deal with the orcs or their pets.

Bilbo shook his head. "None at all. You could even live in Bree, it's very close. Perhaps work at an inn, find a husband with a farm. It probably isn't half as splendid as you're used to."

"More isn't always better," she told him, ducking under a low jagged rock. "Sometimes just having someone else is all you need. I don't think I'd mind living there," she said looking over her shoulder at him, the corner of her mouth curled.

He smiled and nodded as he walked behind her. "Then that settles it, you will be coming home with me." Bilbo was quite happy with himself for finding something to do with her – he couldn't imagine discovering himself in a completely new land without a single idea of what would happen in the days to come. And though he could not see her face, he knew she was very touched.

Thorin had slowed his steps at the sound of her voice, keeping a stride that kept him a little ahead so that he could listen. She was wiser than he'd ever given credit, and there was something in her words that made her sound older than she appeared. It was the best thing for her, to settle somewhere without danger – to live near someone she knew, and Bilbo being made of far gentler stuff than dwarves would make for a good host when the quest was through. However, with Bilbo having agreed to being their burglar, it would mean her accompanying them as far as he did; there would be no taking her somewhere else, leaving her in a town to find her own way – she knew nothing of this land and probably would never find the Shire – if she were to go to Bag End she would have to see the quest through. And what Thorin had not wanted, it meant he would have to keep her alive so that she could.

* * *

_I'm not quite sure how well this is coming out in my writing, but the dwarves are bugging her (I think that part is obvious); but I'm not sure how well I'm showing why they're bugging her - they're basically acting like overprotective guard dogs and treating her like she's this helpless woman who needs to be protected all the time (which she is, but she doesn't like to think of herself like that). The dwarves are also slowly getting used to her being with them, and they feel entitled to keep her safe. But like I said to the guest reviewer at the top, things are going to start to change next chapter in Rivendell. Hope everyone's still enjoying, and as always thanks for reading._


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